Won't Let You Go
by NewRomantic21
Summary: There is a reason you sometimes can't let go of someone no matter the pain they have put you through. Will the latest intelligence case help Kim and Adam as well as Erin and Jay realize why they haven't let each other go? A Burzek and Linstead fanfic.
1. Prologue

A/N: So I know I left my other story in the middle but I had a new inspiration. I will get back to that but for now I hope everyone will enjoy this. It will be Burzek and Linstead and start as they are now with Erin and Jay being on a break and my take on the ambiguity of Kim and Adam. Please let me know what you think!

* * *

Prologue

"We are never making it out of here." Jay proclaimed as he winced with pain that talking was causing him. Kim noticed the wince and tried to increase the pressure she was holding on his wound. Part of her just wanted to give up and agree with him. The odds weren't in their favor. But she needed to have hope someone would get up here and rescue them. She had too much to live for. She had people that needed her.

"Don't think like that. It won't help anything." Kim replied coolly. Though she initially wanted to freak out she was proud of her self for staying calm for most of this. She was worried about him, herself, and Adam. She had no idea if he was safe and as she tried to focus on keeping Jay alive that was always in the back of her head.

"Sitting here isn't helping anything." Jay said with a hint of bitterness in his tone. If it were up to him he would still be moving trying to get to safety or at least some place they weren't sitting like lame ducks. Kim had insisted they stay on the floor the last informed Voight they were on before they lost contact with the team. It made sense to him but he still didn't like it.

"Jay, you are in no condition to move right now." Kim insisted. She wanted to move. She wanted to run. But she couldn't leave Jay and she wasn't sure how far he would make it in this condition. The towel she was using to hold pressure was almost completed covered in blood at this point and she was searching the room for another she could grab soon.

"We have to try something. Or we both are going to die. If we try to move at least you will survive." Jay pleaded. He knew not to bother to try to get her just to leave him like he did earlier.

"Jay." Kim replied. She didn't want him talking like that. She didn't want him to give up.

"Please Kim. I can't just lie here." Jay begged. He knew it would be a big risk. But he knew Kim was strong enough to help him get out of the building. He trusted her.

"And what happens if you bleed out on the way down?" Kim asked.

"You leave me, get yourself out of the building, and tell Erin I love her."


	2. Chapter 1

Several Hours Earlier…

On the car ride over Kim thought this would be more monumental. It was her first time back at the district since everything that happened with her sister. She had taken two months off to take care of her sister and niece. It was an emotionally draining two months and Kim was happy to get back to work and a normal routine. Her sister and niece were still going to be living with her for a bit longer but now that Zoe was home for summer break Nicole felt better about being home without Kim.

Now she walked in to the lobby of the district and Platt didn't even look up when Kim called out a good morning greeting on her way to the Intelligence entrance. She used the palm scanner and let herself in and walked up the stairs. She observed the bullpen before they saw her and she saw everyone at their desks and four cups of coffee sitting on her desk.

Adam was the first to notice her walk in. "Welcome back." He said as he stood up from his desk getting the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Thanks." Kim replied with a little blush in her cheeks. "What's with all the coffee?"

"Apparently we all had the same idea." Adam explained.

"Mine was there first." Kevin jumped in as he walked over towards Kim's desk. He picked up the cup of coffee he brought her off the desk and held it out for her.

"Which means its cold now. Mine is still nice and hot for you." Adam retorted with a smile as he picked up his cup of coffee.

"Boys, silly boys." Erin said walking over to the group. "Mine is just has hot as Ruzek's and its from your favorite place." Erin told Kim as she gave her a light hug welcoming her back before picking up the cup of coffee she brought holding it out to Kim.

Kim stood there kind of confused. They were being really sweet but were they really competing over whose coffee she was going to drink?

"The other is a mocha." Olinsky stated from his desk. He remembered she could always buy a mocha to treat herself the day after they would get paid but otherwise she stuck to regular coffee to save money. He figured a mocha would be a nice treat to welcome her back. He didn't realize until she was on leave how much having her as a partner meant to him, especially after Lexi's death. He always wanted to protect her, which was on of the reasons he was leery on having her in Intelligence, but he knew she could handle her own now and have his back.

"He wins." Kim said taking the last cup of coffee sitting on the desk and taking a sip of it. "Thanks everyone this was really sweet of you. You all helped so much over the last two months I really appreciate everything." Kim said to the group. The last two months Kim was surprised with how much the team was helping out. Even Al had stopped by once in the beginning when Nicole was afraid to be left in the house alone to sit with her while Kim ran some errands.

Jay was still sitting at his desk. He felt a little weird. He wasn't that close to Kim like everyone else so he didn't get her a coffee or see her at all on her leave. He decided just to keep his head down and keep working, he would welcome her back on his own later or something. He also didn't want to be that close to Erin at the moment. He felt like such a disappointment to her for not having his stuff together yet. He had been working with Olinsky while Kim was gone. He wondered if Erin and him would be partners again now that Kim would probably be back with Olinsky now.

Adam followed Kim into the locker room after she excused herself to put he stuff in her locker. He found her standing in front of her locker looking at her phone.

"All good?" He asked.

"Yeah. Not a word from Nicole or Zoe yet. That must be a good sign." Kim replied putting her phone in her pocket and going to open the locker.

"Definitely a good sign." Adam said before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "She even made a snide remark about me at dinner last week. I took that to mean she was much better." Adam made it a habit of bringing dinner to the Burgess ladies at least once a week. Mostly it was his only way to get to see Kim but he knew it was helpful for all of them, as well, to have someone else around the house.

"Ha." Kim replied. "She is getting better with you now." Kim loved whenever Adam came by. He was the light in her week. Taking care of everything for her sister and niece was hard but the nights Adam came by everything felt a little bit better. Especially after Kim had to deal with Nicole's husband and organize visitation for him with Zoe. It was a hard day but when she got back to the apartment Adam was there eating ice cream with Zoe and Nicole making them laugh. The rest of the night they ate pizza together and she felt much better.

"Then will she be okay if I take out to dinner one night this week?" Adam asked. He had been very patient. He knew Kim and her family needed time but he just wanted her. They were moving in a good direction when he returned from his undercover assignment but since Nicole's attack everything had been pretty much halted. He called her every night he wasn't working late and came by once a week. But he longed for more with her.

"Like a date?" Kim asked with a smile as she put her bag into her locker.

"Yes." Adam responded.

Kim made a face like she was really thinking hard about his question when she already knew her answer was yes with lots of exclamation points. "I think that can be arranged."

"Good." Adam replied. He pulled her close to him and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"It is so good to have you back." He told her keeping her in his arms.

"Its good to be back." Kim replied. "But you are going to have to let me go so I can actually get to work."

"Work is overrated." Adam told her as he loosened his grip so she could pull away.

"You spend two months with my sister and then let me know how you feel about that." Kim replied picking up her coffee and walking passed Adam.

"Touché." Adam replied following her out of the locker room.

Erin followed Jay into the break room. He was about to pour himself a cup of coffee when Erin said, "Wait." Jay paused and looked at her. He wasn't used to her talking to him much besides work related stuff in the last two months. He looked at her with the coffee pot still in his hand. Erin walked across the room towards him with the cup of coffee she had originally brought for Kim.

"Here." She said holding the coffee out for him. "You and Kim like your coffee the same way. Drink this so it won't go to waste."

Jay looked at her with a bit of confusion. He didn't know why she was being nice to him. But he wasn't going to let to go to waste, he was going to try to talk to her a bit. "Thanks." He said as he put down the coffee pot and took the cup she held out to him. "You happy to have Kim back?" He asked.

"Yeah. I mean I stopped by her apartment occasionally to check in on them but it will be nice to have her back here we needed a little more estrogen." Erin told him as she turned to leave.

"Wait." Jay yelled out. Erin stopped where she was and turned towards him. She really didn't want to. Seeing him everyday was painful when she couldn't have him. She just wanted him back but knew it would only work out if he worked through all his demons first.

"What?" Erin asked trying not to look him in the eye.

"Abby finally signed the divorce papers last night." Jay told her. Erin finally brought her eyes up to look at his. She could see the pain in them. It killed her. She wanted to be the person to fix all that pain but she knew from her own struggles it had to be him to do it.

"That's great, Jay." Erin told him. Jay was about to say something else when Voight emerged from his office and summoned them all to the bullpen.

Once everyone convened Voight started, "First, Burgess, welcome back." There was a small clap and Ruzek let out a holler. "Now with the Ruzek-Atwater mishap in the last case we will be mixing up the partners here." Voight announced to them all.

"It was an accident." Adam asked at the same time Kevin bellowed. "Boss that wasn't our fault."

"What mishap?" Kim asked no one in particular.

"The last case led to a chase and they knocked over an old women sending her to the hospital with a broken hip." Jay told Kim.

"No way." Kim said looking at the two of them.

Adam tried to put an innocent look on his face as he looked at Kim and she just shook her head at him.

"Either way we need a shake-up. So Burgess you're with Halstead. Atwater and Olinksy and…"

"I'm with Ruzek. Seriously?" Erin interrupted before Voight could get the words out.

"Ouch, Lindsay. That hurts." Adam said putting his hand over his heart like he was wounded. Erin didn't respond but looked towards Voight with pleading eyes.

"My decisions are final now get to work." He told them all as he returned to his office.

Erin followed Voight into his office. Adam just shrugged. The two of them had worked over time together just fine so he wasn't worried but was concerned why she was so against working with him.

Meanwhile, Jay picked up some files off his desk and walked over to Burgess' desk. He never worked with her before one-on-one. But she had not disappointed so far in Intelligence so he would give her a chance as his partner. He wanted to work with Erin again but understood why Voight wasn't putting them back together. Voight had threatened to transfer him when they first went on their "break" so he felt lucky just to still be in the unit. He wasn't going to rock the boat and ask to be Erin's partner again. At least not right now.

"Hey partner. Welcome back." Jay said.

"Thanks." Kim responded with a small smile. "I'm glad we will have a chance to work together."

"Same." Jay replied. "Here are the files for some of the cases we have been working so you can get caught up."

Kim took the files from his hand. "Great thanks." She replied and then went to start going through them.

Jay walked back across from the bullpen and sat at his desk. He picked up the coffee on his desk and held it in his hand for a moment. It was lukewarm at this point but he was going to cherish it since Erin gave it to him. He felt stupid but he was trying to appreciate the little things while his world was so upside-down. Just then Erin came back out from Voight's office. He looked at her hoping he could smile at her or something to say thanks again for the coffee but she walked right passed his desk without even looking up.

* * *

A/N: Just setting the scene the next chapter will have some more action! thanks for the follow, favorites, and reviews so far. I love hearing what you all think!


	3. Chapter 2

"Alright, Ruzek. We are setting some ground rules." Erin said as she walked over to Adam's desk.

"Ground rules?" Adam asked with his mouth full from the donut he had just bitten in to. Erin knew Ruzek was a good cop but he would sometime fence the line of what was appropriate. Erin loved him like a little brother. A little brother who annoyed the crap out of her and has ridiculously silly antics. If they were going to work together she needed some guidelines for how he was to behave.

"Yes. Rule one: I drive. Rule two: no eating in the car. Rule three: no making in appropriate comments about victims or their families." Erin listed to him.

"Hey. That was only once and you laughed." Adam said before he took another bite of his donut. Adam only had to make that mistake once with the glare he got from Voight. He swore if looks could kill he would not have only been dead but completely vaporized.

"Not the point." Erin said firmly.

"Don't worry I will be on my best behavior when we work together. Everything will be by the book." Adam said with a small smirk that really didn't instill much confidence in Erin.

"Yeah. Yeah. Well I got a CI we need to talk to so let's go." Erin said as she went to grab her coat from her desk.

Adam and Erin were almost at the stairs to leave the bullpen when Voight came out and said, "Hold up." Erin and Adam stopped in their tracks and everyone else looked up.

"What's up, Sarge?" Kevin asked.

"Five inmates have escaped their prison transport in the middle of the city." Voight informed them all.

"Isn't that something for SWAT or a fugitive task force?" Al asked.

"They are in a highly populated area and the mayor doesn't want to scare away tourists. They think we can go in and get them out without too much fanfare." Voight informed them all.

"So what's our play?" Jay asked.

"Suit up and we will assess the area when we get there." Voight told them all. The team made their way to the back room to get their vests and guns.

Erin had tuned out Ruzek and Atwater discussing the Cubs and White Sox and her mind wandered to Jay while she loaded her guns and put her vest on. She wondered what Abby signing the divorce papers meant for him and for them. She missed him everyday, even thought she saw him everyday at work, it was different. She had confided in Gabby one night at Molly's about working with the person you love when you aren't together. She thought about asking Kim but Kim and Adam obviously were not a good example since Kim originally tried to transfer and then Adam ran away when Kim joined Intelligence. Gabby gave her some advice about just concentrating on the job but no matter what it would always be difficult. That really didn't help Erin at this point. It had gotten a little easier for her but it was still a struggle seeing him everyday knowing he wasn't going home with her afterwards. Erin looked over to where Jay and Kim were suiting up and a pang of jealously crept over her when she watched Jay help Kim with a strap she was struggling with on her vest. He used to do that for her.

"Thanks, Jay." Kim said as she finished the rest of the straps on her own. Al now made his way over to where the two of them were preparing and chatting about the weather. Kim was so grateful not to have to talk about her two months off or her sister for the time being with Jay she enjoyed the mundane conversation about how hot it had gotten so fast in Chicago.

"Kim, you good?" Al asked his former partner. He wasn't sure how he felt not having her as his partner right now. With Lexi gone she had started to fill the daughter like hole in his life. He didn't like to think of it that way thought. No one could replace Lexi in his heart but all the worrying he used to do for Lexi had now shifted towards Kim.

"All good." Kim said with a slight smile. She knew he was probably worried about her jumping right back into things now but she was more the ready to do so.

"Jay you got her back?" Al asked.

"Of course, man." Jay responded. He would have her back just like he would anyone else in the unit. He didn't get defensive when Al asked this because he knew everything Al had been through with Lexi and he was just being cautious now with his former partner.

"Alright. Let's head out." Voight announced to them all. As they started heading out of the garage everyone left except from Kim and Adam. He came up to her and put his hand on her cheek. "Be safe." He told her.

She gave him a slight smile. "You too." He gave her a quick wink and they headed out to the separate cars.

Kim sat in the passenger seat of the GMC Sierra as Jay drove to the location of the escape. Kim mentioned how nice the new car was and Jay went off about the specs of the car for the whole ride.

"The radio looks nice." Kim said interrupting Jay's description of horsepower and engine things Kim knew nothing about.

"Wait until the winter for the heated seats. They are Erin's favorite." Jay told her. He got quiet after that. Kim understood and didn't respond. She just kept quiet next to him. The rest of the drive was silent.

"So how come you want to drive? Wouldn't you want to sit back and relax?" Adam asked Erin.

"Relax with you behind the wheel?" Erin asked. "I would be holding on for dear life."

"I am a great driver." Adam insisted.

"I'd rather not die." Erin said blankly.

"I wouldn't…" Adam started. But then he saw what was in front of them. "Wow." He said. They were headed to a crowd surrounding a turned over prison transfer van.

Erin didn't say anything she just pulled over and got out of the car.

"I guess the whole keeping it a secret thing is out." Adam said as him and Erin approached where Kevin and Al were already standing observing the vehicle.

"Guess so." Al said flatly. There was already a crowd surrounding the area and patrol officers trying to keep them back. Adam gave a little chuckle at how many obvious tourists taking pictures of the scene.

"What'd we got?" Voight asked one of the patrol officers.

"The five offenders were last seen fleeing into the hotel, there after the van hit a car and flipped over." The officer told the team referring to the fifteen-story hotel on the street.

"Looks like they got a lucky break." Olinksy said.

"What the deal with the hotel?" Voight asked the patrolman.

"We have officers keeping everyone inside for now. We were waiting for you words on what to do. The manager has universal key cards for you all and there is a function in the ballroom on the third floor." The officer informed Voight as the team listened on. "SWAT is on their way for backup."

"Alright thanks." Voight told the patrol officer before turning towards the team. "Here is how this will play. Ruzek and Lindsay take the ballroom, Halstead and Burgess start at the top and work your way down, and Olinksy and Atwater start at the bottom and work your way up." Voight told them all.

"Do we have any idea who they are or what they look like?" Olinksy asked.

"Just that they are all male." Voight told them. "We can assume by now they have ditched their jump suits so be cautious of everyone."

"Got it." Jay said and then nudged Burgess. "Let's go."

The team walked into the hotel and it was pure panic. People were demanding to leave but patrol officers were blocking the door. Jay and Kim headed for the elevator with Erin and Adam while Atwater and Olinksy started at the rooms on the first floor. Jay could hear Voight calling for attention to everyone in the lobby as the elevator door closed with him Kim, Erin, and Adam all in the elevator. Thankfully it was a quick trip to the third floor to let Erin and Ruzek off because the ride was quiet and awkward.

"Good luck." Adam said as him and Erin exited the elevator on to the third floor. Kim gave him a quick smile as the door closed with Jay and Kim still inside so they could go up to the 15th floor.

"So you and Kim?" Erin asked Adam as the two of them walked the doors of the ballroom.

"Erin, we need to be professional and not talk about our personal lives on the job." Adam told her seriously. Erin rolled her eyes. She brought this on herself. This was going to be a long day if this was how he was going to act the whole day.

"Fine." Erin said with a small huff. Adam opened the door to the ballroom for Erin and followed in behind her. There were two patrol officers already in there and about 100 people who all started charging at Erin and Adam as they entered demanding answers.

"Hold up." Adam yelled gaining everyone's attention and having most people quiet down. "I am Officer Ruzek this is Detective Lindsay. We will get you all moving shortly. Everyone is going to need to show us ID in order to leave. We will be doing this in an orderly fashion and get you all moving shortly. Any questions, complaints, or comments should be held for a Sargent Hank Voight who you will meet on your way out. Until then sit back and relax."

Erin did let out a little chuckle about them talking to Voight. She knew Voight would not be pleased with that but Adam did handle that all professional. She tried to scan the room now to see if anyone was fidgety about needing an ID to leave but for the most part she just saw annoyed people playing on their phones.

"Alright. Let's get started." Erin said to Adam.

Kim and Jay made it to the top floor and stepped out of the elevator.

"Do you think we should check the roof first?" Kim asked Jay.

"No. I'm sure a helicopter will be here any minute and will get it." Jay reassured her. Jay had done the math on the way up. Between how many rooms there were here and how many people the likelihood of them catching these guys were slim to none. He had a feeling they didn't get a "lucky break" with the van flipping over and that these guys were smart. There was a reason they ran into a hotel together instead of splitting up and continuing to run on the street. He just didn't figure out what that was yet.

"You take the rooms on the left I'll take the rooms on the right." Jay said to Kim handing her one of the universal cards.

"And what if I come across a room full of five escaped cons by myself?" Kim asked him.

"I doubt you will they probably split up once they got inside. But if you do come across all five at once I'm sure they still don't stand a chance against you." Jay replied. Kim smiled at the confidence he had in her. It felt good to have a partner that recognized she could handle the job. It felt almost as good as when her and Atwater were partners on patrol.

"If they split up in here why didn't they just keep running and split up on the streets?" Kim asked him.

"That is a great question." Jay responded and headed for his first door. The two of them checked all the rooms on the floor and found them empty so they continued their way down the building.

Voight stepped outside of the hotel to talk with the Sergeant from SWAT.

"It would be best to clear as many people from the building before I send my guys in." the Sergeant told him.

"That's what we are working on." Voight explained. Before Voight could mention that no one has come from the ballroom yet three explosions came from above. Everyone ducked and covered their heads and a few people screamed. Voight looked up and could see fire and smoke billowing out from multiple floors of the hotel. People starting running out of the building trampled a few people outside. It was complete chaos. Voight moved to a clear space and grabbed his radio.

"Report. Anyone and everyone report." Voight said into the radio. He waited a minute and got nothing and then repeated his call. But there was nothing. The team was radio silent.

* * *

A/N: Lets just pretend a team of seven is what they would send in to find 5 escaped cons...

Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: So I was originally going to write these next three chapters as one long chapter in three parts but decided to do them separately so you all wouldn't have to wait so long to read them (and because this one is a lot longer than I originally planned it to be). Thank you all so much so far for the reviews, follows, and favorite! I love reading what you guys think of it so far and for those who have asked to see certain things don't worry I am very conscious of this as writing and will do my best to get it in!

* * *

Atwater and Olinsky made it to the fifth floor before they actually ran into a person. They were beginning to think the hotel was empty.

"Miss please stop and give us your ID so we can check your identify before you leave the hotel." Al said to the young woman in a business skirt suit.

"You can check my ID but I am not leaving my hotel." The dark hair, blue-eyed woman in her mid-twenties told them.

"Your hotel?" Atwater asked. As she moved closer he was struck by how beautiful she was and well put together. She didn't have anything out of place.

"I am the assistant manager. I have been going and asking the guests to head to the lobby so you guys wouldn't be scaring them." She said as she walked over and held out the identification badge she had around her neck.

"That's why we haven't found any one here yet." Atwater replied.

"Yeah. I could just see the reviews 'we were enjoying our stay with a great view of the city and comfortable beds until two men with giant guns came barging into our rooms and asked us if we were criminals before demanding we leave the premises.'"

"At least the mentioned the nice beds. They do look comfortable." Kevin joked to her. He knew he shouldn't be flirting with her. They were on the job. But he couldn't help it.

"And what would have happened if you instead of guests you found the perps we are chasing, Ms. Jennings?" Al asked not amused but mentioning the name he read from her badge.

"Please call me Emily. And that is a good question." Emily said. "I could tell you what I plan on doing but that would probably be totally different of what I actually do. You know the whole heat of the moment kinda thing. I am assuming of course since I have yet in fact to find one." She said with a curt smile.

Al was a bit annoyed but Kevin was bemused already with her. She was feisty and he liked it.

"Well you should get back down to the lobby and figure out your guests there while we continue to search the building." Al said flatly. This girl was wasting their time.

"Not a fan of should." She said. "But thanks anyway." She could tell Al was annoyed with her and she was equally as annoyed. She knew they were just doing their job but couldn't they do it will a customer friendly smile or a please and thank you?

Kevin could sense the tension. He liked the woman instantly but her stubbornness was not melding well with Al's. "Well we should keep going. Nice to meet you." Kevin said as he ushered Al to keep moving.

"We hope you enjoy your stay here. Please come again soon." Emily called to them sarcastically. Kevin wanted to smile or laugh but held it in because he could see how pissed Al was.

Al waited for them to get to the stairs before he said, "That girls got no respect. How did she make it to a job in management?"

"We are kinda ruining their whole business right now." Kevin said. Al shot him a look. "Just playing devils advocate."

"Yeah. Yeah." Al said waving him off. "Lets just keep checking rooms."

Kevin was in a room halfway down the hall when he heard an explosion and the room shook. He waited a minute and then there were two more explosions and the building shook even worse knocking him on his ass.

"Atwater!" Olinsky called. Kevin got up and walked out of the room he was in.

"Yeah, O." Kevin responded.

"You alright?" Olinsky asked.

"Yeah. What the fuck happened, man?" Kevin asked.

"Not sure." He said as he walked into a room that was open and tried to look out the window. All he could see was smoke.

"Crap. The building is on fire. We need to get out of here now." Olinsky said to Kevin and the two of them made their way out of the room and too the stairs.

When they got to the landing of the fifth floor Kevin stopped for a minute. He could swear he heard something. Al kept going. "What are you stopping for?" Al asked.

"Did you hear that?" Kevin asked trying to concentrate on the sounds.

"Hear what?" Al asked but then they both heard it; a faint cry for help. Kevin opened the door to the fifth floor and it was already filled with smoke and he could see flames come from the end of the hall. He then remembered this was where they left the assistant manager.

"Hello is anyone here?" Kevin called out. Al followed closely behind.

"Help." They heard again. It was definitely a female voice. It was hard to see through all the smoke.

"We should turn back." Al said coughing. It was getting hard to breathe.

"Help." Was call out again and then Kevin finally saw her lying on the ground in the hallway. Kevin swung the rifle he had in his hands around to his back after putting the safety on and then went to scoop her up. It was Emily and it looked like she had been in a fight. Not the pristine condition she was in when they first saw her. He cradled her in his arms so her head was on his chest.

"Shit." Al said when he saw her.

"Let get out of here." Kevin said and coughed a little.

"I tried to stop him." Emily said to Kevin. He could tell it was taking all of her strength to talk.

"Who?" Kevin asked when they finally made it back to the stairs where the air was clear.

"He didn't work here." She said. And then coughed with all the smoke in her body.

"I know everyone. He didn't work here." She said again.

"Shh. Don't worry. It will be okay." Kevin whispered to her to try to calm her down. He ran his fingers over her face pushing some of the hair in her face out of the way. She was covered in smoke and soot but still looked beautiful to him.

"What is she saying?" Al asked and they continued down the stairs.

"She isn't making much sense. But I think she saw who did this." Kevin replied pulling her a little closer to him. He could tell they were close to the first floor just by the commotion they could hear from the stairs. Al opened the door to the lobby for Kevin and they walked into pure panic. Some patrol officers were trying to get people out of the building in an orderly fashion but were failing. Hoards of people were trying to push their ways through the doors.

"Shit. How do we get here out of here? She needs to get to the hospital now." Kevin said as Emily laid in his arms unconscious now.

"Everyone forgets about the emergency exits during an emergency." Al said and they turned back into the stairwell to the emergency door in the back. The ally was empty and they made their way to the front of the building with Kevin still holding Emily tight against him. He kept checking to make sure she was still breathing as he carried her.

"We need a paramedic!" Kevin's voiced boomed through the large crowd. He was thankful to see Sylvie Brett and Gabby Dawson come running at him with a backboard and medics bag and Voight was not too far behind them.

"What happened to her?" Sylvie asked as Kevin placed her on the backboard they put on the ground.

"We found her on the ground on one of the floors that were on fire." Kevin told Gabby and Sylvie as they were checking her vitals. Now out of the smoky hotel Kevin could see it looked like she had taken a serious beating and a head wounded that was bleeding. "I think she saw what happened, Boss." Kevin said to Voight who was now standing over them.

"Well go with her and see if you can get anymore information when she comes to." Voight instructed him as Gabby and Sylvie were getting ready to move her.

"What about the perps?" Kevin asked.

"There is no way were are finding them in this chaos if they are even still here." Voight explained. "Go and report back when you can."

"Sure thing, Sarge." Kevin said as she took off his automatic rifle from around his body and handed it to Voight. He helped Sylvie and Gabby carry the backboard the ambulance and then hopped in the back with Gabby.

"Where is everyone else?" Al asked Voight as they watched the ambulance drive out through the chaos.

"Haven't seen or heard from anyone else." Voight said calmly. He was getting a little worried about his team but he knew they could all handle themselves.

"Radios?" Al asked.

"Not working. Neither are cell phones." Voight said as he had tried to radio everyone multiple times and his phone showed no service but he checked every minute just in case.

"Shit. What did we get ourselves in the middle of?"

* * *

A/N: Next up: Lindsay and Ruzek.


	5. Chapter 4

"Thank you miss. You can go wait with the patrol officer. Once we check a few more people the patrol officer will escort you all out of the building." Adam told the woman standing in front of him as he handed her back her ID. They didn't want guest wandering the halls by themselves so they devised a plan to check the identities of people and send them out in groups. They were just about to send out the first batch soon.

"Thank you officer." The blonde said to him as she batted her eyelashes. "Here is my card if you ever need a new dental hygienist or want to get a drink." She handed him the card and walked away.

Adam rolled his eyes as he crumbled up the card in his hand. Erin noticed this and had to laugh.

"You really aren't going to keep the card?" Erin asked as she handed the ID she was checking back to the dentist. Of course the ballroom was haven't some dental seminar so it was a room full of dentist and hygienist. They both were thankful they were all relatively calm about the situation. But it one more person comment on her teeth and asked her who her orthodontist was she was going to lose it.

"Nope. Why should I?" Adam asked moving on to the next person in his line. He had no need for it. He finally got Kim back, sort of. He wasn't going to mess it up.

"She was hot, Adam." Erin replied.

"Doesn't matter." Adam simply replied. She wanted him to be professional, while he was. But she was starting to annoy him with all the questions about Kim and his love life. It was just his luck that one of the patrol officers they were working with was his buddy Ramos from the academy and of course started to tell Erin about a prank Adam pulled during one class. Adam cut him off before he could get to the end. Erin looked amused but he wasn't sure if it was because she was enjoying the story or that this wasn't helping his 'being professional' stance he was taking with her. He was doing his best with it but Ramos wasn't helping and Erin's insistent questions about Kim were wearing him thin.

"So you and Kim are serious again, then?" Erin asked.

"We have always been serious!" Adam snapped. "Dammit." He took a deep breath. "I would rather not talk about my personal life while we are working, Erin. Its not very professional."

"Fine." Erin replied and went back to her line of people. She didn't think he would take her comments at the district earlier so seriously but he really had been nothing but by the book the whole time so far. Some of the dentist set up jokes for her perfect but she watched him bite his tongue over them.

"Hey Ramos, you can take the group down." Adam called over to his friend who was standing near the doors.

"Sure thing." He replied and went to open the door for the group. But the door wouldn't budge. He jiggled the handle and tried again. Still nothing.

"Hey Ruzek. Did you guys lock the door when you came up?" Ramos called over.

"What?" Adam asked before he excused himself from the dentist he was talking to and walked over to the door.

"It's locked." Ramos said again as Adam walked over to the door.

Adam jiggled the handle and tried to open the door but got nothing and Ramos rolled his eyes since that is what he just did.

"Stand back." Adam told Ramos and the people around them. Adam then threw his body in the door with his shoulder hoping to knock the door out. But he had no luck the door didn't move and his shoulder hurt. He was pissed now.

"One more time." Adam said and went to go again.

"Adam are you sure that is a good idea?" Erin asked now joining him and Ramos.

"Yes. " Adam said and then went at the door again. This time he heard something crack. Unfortunately it wasn't the door but his arm.

"Crap." He yelled out in pain.

"I told you." Erin said as he grabbed his arm in pain. Adam just gave her a look and then turned to Ramos.

"Go check the other door calmly and quietly. If it is locked too we may have a problem." Adam told him.

"Alright." Ramos said and headed to the other side of the ballroom. Adam and Erin were thankful the caters just brought out some food to distract everyone from the likelihood they might be locked in the room.

"You okay?" Erin asked Adam. Before Adam could respond the head of the catering company came over to them.

"We have a problem." She told them. Just what we need, Adam thought to himself.

"What?" Adam asked as he still held his arm trying to not think about the pain.

"Two of my servers have gone missing." The woman explained. They were getting ready to put more food out since it was already paid for and cooked up she couldn't find Arnold and Howie to help with the distribution of the food.

"Okay." Erin said and took a deep breath. This was not good. "We will look into it."

Erin then turned to Adam and asked. "You good?'

"Yeah. Let check this out." He responded as he pulled out his gun. The movement made him grimace a bit but the pain wasn't unbearable yet. They did a walk around of the room and nothing seemed suspicious. Ramos came up to them.

"Other door is locked too." He told them.

"Okay. You and your partner keep things calm in here. We need to go check the back and the kitchen. We have some people missing." Adam explained to Ramos.

"Okay." He nodded and walked back to the front of the room.

Adam and Erin checked out a supply closet connected to the ballroom and that is where they found two bodies where just undershirts and boxers.

"This is not good." Erin said to Adam.

"No shit." Adam replied. "They could be anywhere. I'm gonna radio to Voight."

Adam tried his radio but it didn't work. Then he looked at his phone. The words no service where up in the right hand corner.

"Fuck." Adam said wanting to throw his phone against the wall.

"What?" Erin asked as she came back after clearing the rest of the room.

"No radio. No phone." Adam told her as he held his arm still after putting his phone away.

"So we are locked in here with over a hundred people who are obsessed with teeth, no phone, no radio, two bodies, and probably two offenders on the loose." Erin clarified.

"That sums it up." Adam confirmed.

"Okay. Well let's go check the kitchen and then figure out what to do." Erin said. She did not like the situation.

Erin took the lead in the kitchen. Adam followed up behind her. "How's your arm?" She asked and turned her head to look at him. However, she took the wrong time as someone came at her with a knife after hiding in between two cabinets. Adam saw this happening and reacted fast.

He pushed Erin out of the way and on to the floor. Erin banged into a table as she fell and watched as the assailant brought the knife down across Adam's arm. Adam dropped his gun as she struggled to get the knife out of his hand. With his arm being broken Adam was not winning this fight. Erin was getting off the floor to help him when she heard and explosion and whole floor shook. This knocked Adam and the assailant on to the floor still struggling over the knife. Erin finally got up and pulled her gun. But then there were two more blasted knocking her back down. "What the fuck?" She said as she got up. Adam was slowly losing the battle to keep the knife away from him. Erin had enough. She kicked the guy twice to get him off of Adam and then shot him once right in the chest. He didn't move. Erin paused for a minute taking a deep breath. Even though he was trying to kill her partner taking a life was never easy for her. Finally she collected herself and turned to Adam who was trying to sit up.

"You alright?" She asked as she looked around to find something for him to hold on his arm to control the bleeding on his arm.

"I will be." Adam said still trying to catch is breath. "Thanks."

"No thanks necessary. You saved me first." Erin replied as she threw him a dishtowel she found. Just then Ramos came running into the room after hearing the shot and saw the man dead, bleeding on the ground.

"One of the guys?" He asked.

"Yeah. What was that before? Why did the whole building shake?" Erin asked.

"Some sort of explosion. There is smoke outside so I am guessing there is a fire. People are starting to panic." Ramos explained to the two of them.

"Great." Adam said as he tried to stop the bleeding in his arm. "Is CFD here yet?"

"Not yet. I tried to radio that we were stuck in here but they aren't working." Ramos told them.

"Still?" Erin asked and Ramos nodded in confirmation. She pulled out her phone and it said no service. Erin looked to Adam trying to hide the worry in her eyes. Then her mind went to Jay. She had no idea where he was in here. Was he safe? No idea. She shook the thought from her head. She had to focus here for now.

"We need to clear the rest of the room." Adam said unsure of where the other guy would pop out of.

"You stay I got it." Erin said. She grabbed her gun again and headed to the back of the kitchen stepping over the body trying not to step in any blood. She was at the back of the kitchen and found nothing. "Clear." She yelled to Adam.

"Erin, come here." Adam yelled back so she walked back to where she left Adam and Ramos.

"What's up?" She asked as Adam was examining something on the wall.

"I don't think our guy is here anymore." Adam said pulling away from the wall to reveal a dumbwaiter. "He could be anywhere by now."

"Shit." Erin said than paused. "Let's go calm everyone down and hope CFD gets here sooner rather than later."

Ramos left the room and before Erin and Adam walked out Erin turned to Adam and asked, "What the fuck do you think is going on here? This seems planned." She didn't want to say anything in front of the patrol officer in case he panicked and it showed to the guests.

Adam adjusted his arm so it wasn't so painful and he could keep the towel on his wound and then said, "I'm starting to think that transpo van flipping by this hotel wasn't an accident."

* * *

A/N: Next is Jay and Kim...


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I was the head of an event this week at work so I was crazy busy. Hopefully it won't take this long again. But here it is! I'm not crazy about it. It feels a little off but I hope you enjoy it. And as always thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows.

* * *

Kim and Jay were on the eleventh floor. Jay was further down the hall from Kim because she had to stop and calm a maid down who freaked out when Kim entered the room she was cleaning. Working with Jay was pretty easy for her. He took his job seriously and worked hard, so she was happy so far. He wasn't very chatty once they started searching but she was used to that with Olinsky so it didn't bother her too much.

Jay heard some movement in the utility room next to the room he was in. He kept his gun out and opened the door. Opened the door but before he could look around he was stuck over the head. It didn't knock him out but left him disoriented. He could feel someone struggling to get his gun. His vision was still fuzzy from being hit but he could tell this guy was definitely bigger than he was just by the force he was using to try to pry the gun from his hand. Jay fought him trying to gain control of his gun again. Jay felt his arm twisting when the gun went off and Jay felt something slice through his hip. He fell to the ground in pain as the man took the gun. Jay couldn't see what he was doing. He thought he was going to shoot him again but instead Jay watched him lite a fire before running out of the room.

Kim heard a gun go off and she ran out of the room she was in and into the hall. The perp came down the hall to where Kim was.

"Stop. Police." Kim said with her gun out in front of her as she stared down the large man in a facility workers uniform. However, the guy didn't stop. He kept coming at her and then pulled out Jay's gun he had in his hand. Before he could even raise it Kim shot him twice in the chest. Her head was going a mile a minute as she walked over to the man on the ground. Where was Jay? Where did this guy get the gun?

"Jay!" Kim called out but there was no response. She kicked the gun out of the guys hand before leaning over the check if he had a pulse. She tried her best to keep her eyes on the perp but they flicked fast to the gun and she could tell easily for the type that it was Jay's. She called out to him again in worry. "Jay!" But again there was no answer. There was no pulse on the guy. This didn't shake Kim up as much as it used to. She now ran down the hall looking for Jay in a panic continuing to call out his name. She saw smoking coming out of a room and ran there. She had her gun out and turned to go into the room. What she saw was a line of fire heading towards what looked like an open gas line and Jay on the ground near the door. She knew instantly there was no way she could put out the fire herself before it hit the gas line so she holstered her gun and grabbed Jay by his bulletproof vest and started pulling him out of the room and down the hall. He was mumbling something as she dragged him and she just tried to sooth him telling him everything would be okay. She was trying to get a room door open when she heard and felt the blast from a floor below. She leaped from where she was standing at a door and covered Jay with her body putting her hands over her face just as the blast from the utility room went off on their floor. She wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking she just knew she needed to protect Jay. Kim could feel the heat of the fire flash from the explosion on her neck and part of her arms but it pulled back fast. After feeling the building shake from another explosion from below, Kim looked up finally and saw the fire was at the other end of the hall. She could feel the pain on her skin but decided not to focus on it. She looked to Jay and he was now not responding. She got back up and opened the door of the room and pulled Jay inside. She desperately wanted to check out herself. She could feel the pain of the burn on her skin but looked after Jay instead. She was thankful to feel his pulse once they were inside the room and then started looking at his wound. He was still unconscious so she grabbed a towel from the bathroom room and put some pressure on Jay's wound. When she was in the bathroom she took a quick look in the mirror. Her skin was red but it wasn't horrible. Though she was in pain she was going to push through it. She went back to where she left Jay and held the towel to the wound just above his right hip. She tried to radio for help but it wasn't working and her phone had no service. "Fuck." She said as she tossed her phone away.

"What?" Jay said softly.

"Jay! Oh thank god!" Kim said. He tried to sit up a bit but she pushed him back down.

"Stay down. You are hurt." She told him. She flinched a little at the pain from her skin as she did so.

"Apparently you are too." Jay said noticing her flinch a bit as she pushed him back.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Kim told him.

"What happened?" Jay asked. Kim heard the strain in his voice.

"You were shot. They set up multiple explosions in the building. It looks like they pulled the gas pipes and lit a fire to set off the explosions once it fire made it to the pipe it exploded giving them time to run away." Kim explained from what she could put together.

"So there is a fire on this floor?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. And I am assuming two other floors from the two other explosions I felt." Kim told him. She was worried but tried to hide it from him. She would feel better if she knew Adam was okay. With everything that had happened to her and her family in the last 2 months it really put her relationship with Adam in perspective. She knew she need him in her life and was happy with them starting over now. Now the idea of him being hurt or worse was making her uneasiness. Not to mention the fact that she was now trying to keep her partner alive.

"Have we heard from anyone else?" Jay asked but what he really wanted to ask was if they had heard from Erin. Thinking of her was the only way he could think of to distract him from the pain.

"No radios and phones are down." Kim told him.

"What the hell is going on?" Jay asked.

"I don't know but I think was more of a plan than a happy accident." Kim said.

"Ugh." Jay groaned. Kim then noticed some smoke getting under the door.

"Jay. I'll be right back will you be okay?" Kim asked.

"Yeah." Jay said as he moved his hand to hold the towel Kim was holding in place. Kim got up and grabbed other towels in the room and put them under the door. She was really hoping the fire department was on their way to get them out of here. She wasn't sure how long she could keep Jay from bleeding out, the bullet was somewhere lodged inside of him, and the pain on her skin was getting worse. And she had no idea how long it would take for the fire to reach them here. Kim was really hoping the door on the hotel was fire proof. She grabbed a sheet off the bed and went into the bathroom and soaked the sheet to wrap it on her burns. They were getting redder but they didn't look too bad. She was thankful she was friends with firefighters and EMTs so she knew how to take care of this. She made her way back to Jay and kneeled down next to him to hold pressure again.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'll be fine." Kim said again. It hurt but it wasn't a gunshot wound. That's what she was focusing on.

"So we are just gonna sit here? On the 11th floor while there is a fire and we are both hurt." Jay asked.

"The fire department will get here eventually."

"We are never making it out of here." Jay proclaimed as he winced with pain that talking was causing him. Kim noticed the wince and tried to increase the pressure she was holding on his wound. Part of her just wanted to give up and agree with him. The odds weren't in their favor. But she needed to have hope someone would get up here and rescue them. She had too much to live for. She had people that needed her.

"Don't think like that. It won't help anything." Kim replied coolly. Though she initially wanted to freak out she was proud of her self for staying calm for most of this. She was worried about him, herself, and Adam. She had no idea if he was safe and as she tried to focus on keeping Jay alive that was always in the back of her head.

"Sitting here isn't helping anything." Jay said with a hint of bitterness in his tone. If it were up to him he would still be moving trying to get to safety or at least some place they weren't sitting like lame ducks.

"Jay, you are in no condition to move right now." Kim insisted. She wanted to move. She wanted to run. But she couldn't leave Jay and she wasn't sure how far he would make it in this condition. The towel she was using to hold pressure was almost completed covered in blood at this point and she was searching the room for another she could grab soon.

"We have to try something. Or we both are going to die. If we try to move at least you will survive." Jay pleaded. He knew not to bother to try to get her just to leave him like he did earlier.

"Jay." Kim replied. She didn't want him talking like that. She didn't want him to give up.

"Please Kim. I can't just lie here." Jay begged. He knew it would be a big risk. But he knew Kim was strong enough to help him get out of the building. He trusted her.

"And what happens if you bleed out on the way down?" Kim asked.

"You leave me, get yourself out of the building, and tell Erin I love her."

"It won't come to that. I think I have an idea." Kim replied.


	7. Chapter 6

Voight walked over to Boden as soon as he saw him step foot out of his car. Al was trying to see if they could get a hold of the manager of the hotel to find out some information.

"Four of my people are in there still." Voight said to Boden without even saying hello first.

"We will get them out. Do you know where they are?" Boden asked. Seeing the hint of anxiety in Voight's face was concerning for Boden since nothing ever rattled him.

"Two were in the ballroom on the third floor, which from reports no one has come out of yet and two started at the top of the building and were working their way down." Voight explained.

"Our men are on it." Boden said. He went to walk over to where Squad 3 and Engine 81 were pulling into so he relay the information to Casey and Severide when Voight stopped him to say, "Tell them to be careful we have five fugitives loose inside and radios aren't working."

Boden nodded and then quickened his pace to the trucks. At this point Al made his way through the crowd of people to Voight. "Can't find the manager anywhere. Some employees said he was in the lobby when the explosions occurred but haven't seen him since."

"Did you tell me that girl Atwater took to the hospital was the assistant manager?" Voight asked to clarify.

"Yeah." Al said. He felt bad for the girl but she still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Go for a walk since the signal is jammed here and call him and tell him he needs to be getting information from her. There is a reason this is all happening here. Maybe she knows something or can lead us in the right direction." Voight commanded since right now that was about all they could do until he got his team back.

"On it." Al said and started walking.

Kevin walked back into the waiting room of Chicago Med after stepping outside to take a call from Olinsky. It was just as much chaos here as it was at the hotel of people trying to get information on their loved ones and others trying to get medical attention. He was grateful to see April walking right at him as he came in.

"Is she okay? Can I see her now? We have questions for her." Kevin said to April asking about Emily who he pulled out of the building.

"Yeah you can go in. She is conscious now just batter, bruised, some smoke inhalation and a broken leg." April explained.

"Thanks." Kevin said and headed back into the ED.

He entered the room and saw her sitting up drinking some water. All the bruises were evident on her now.

"Hey." He said from the doorway. She looked up and a small smile washed across her face for a second.

"Hi. Come in please. I heard you saved me. I guess that makes you my hero now." She said in a mocking flirtatious voice. Kevin made his way to stand next to her bed.

"Its my job." Kevin said to her.

"Oh." Emily said at first. "Well thank you." She was a little more sincere now.

"No problem. I am glad you are okay." He said to her and then reached for his notebook.

"I'm guessing you have some questions for me?" Emily asked noticing him looking like he was ready for business. She was kind of hoping he was there for her not for work. She knew it was silly but she felt something.

"Yeah. I'm sorry but we need to know what happened." Kevin said and pulled his pen out now so he could jot down some things.

"After you and your partner left I went to straighten up one of the rooms. After I went to walk down to the stairs, I figured I wasn't going to get my work out in with my hotel being infested with cops today I might as well take the stairs for some exercise." She said with a small smile to him. "But saw a guy in a maintenance uniform in the utility room for that floor. I went to tell him to leave the building but realized I didn't recognize him. I know all my staff." Emily told him.

"What was he doing?" Kevin asked.

"He was doing something to one of the gas pipes. I assumed he was one of the guys you were looking for since I didn't know him and tried to find something in the room to hit him with while still pretending I didn't notice that he didn't work here so he didn't catch on. But I was not as slick as I thought I was because next thing I know he was hitting me the tool in his hand. I tried to get away but I couldn't." Emily was not trying to hold back some tears now as she recalled what happened. "When I was on the floor was when he broke my leg I can't remember what he did because there was so much going on but I remember feeling it breaking. Once I stopped fighting back he went back to what he was doing. I started trying to crawl out of the room and he didn't notice. I could see and smell the smoke so I knew he started a fire so I started crawling faster and then there was an explosion. The next thing I remember was being in the ambulance with you."

Kevin nodded his head. "If I showed you pictures would you be able to recognize the guy?"

"Yes. Definitely." Emily responded fast. She didn't forget faces, its what helped her be so good at her job she knew all her employees and regular guests.

"Okay. I'll see if we can get some to show you soon. We are going to need your employee list and guest list as soon as possible." Kevin told her.

"Can't you get it from Mr. Waterman? He is at the hotel still, right?" Emily asked.

"That's the manager?" Kevin asked. Emily nodded in response. "We haven't been able to find him."

"That doesn't sound good." Emily said.

"No. Don't worry though. The scene was chaotic and there were a lot of people I'm sure they will find him." Kevin said trying to reassure her. For some reason with the worry on his face his hand slipped closer to where hers lied on the bed. He then could see her brain shifting gears fast.

"What time is it?" She asked suddenly.

"About eleven." Kevin told her.

"Shit." She said.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to pick my daughter up from preschool at 11:45." She told him. Kevin's face fell a little and he moved his hand back. Of course she was married with a kid, he thought, there was no way a girl like her was still single.

"Do you want to call your husband and see if he can get her?" Kevin asked pulling out his phone. Emily could see the change in his face.

"No. No husband. I'll have to call my mom." She had a little smile on her face because she could see Kevin relaxing again as soon as she said 'no husband'. She wasn't sure what there was about him but she automatically felt the need for him to like her. She normally didn't get that way around guys. She was perfectly happy with her life of just her and her daughter, no man was needed. But something about him was different. And at this point, she didn't even know his name.

"Okay. Here is my phone you can call her." He said handing her his phone.

"Thank you." She said.

"I'm just gonna step out side. Holler if you need anything." Kevin told her.

"Thanks again." She said. Kevin went to leave the room. "Wait." She called after him.

"Yeah?" He asked from the doorway.

"You never told me your name." She stated.

"Kevin. Officer Kevin Atwater." He told her with a smile.

"Thank you, Officer Atwater." She said stressing the officer as if she was teasing him before she turned her attention towards the phone. Kevin smiled and walked out of the room. He went over to the nurses' station and asked if he could use the phone. He called Olinsky hoping he still had phone signal so he could let them know about the one being in a maintenance uniform. He got a hold of Al and told him the information. At the end of the call he asked, "Any word on the others?"

"Nothing on Burgess and Halstead yet but Ruzek and Lindsay are coming down now."

Erin and Adam sat with their backs against the main doors to the ballroom. They were exhausted. After fighting off the guy in the kitchen the ballroom was in a bit of a panic. No one had any idea what was going on and they couldn't get out. There were cries that they were all going to be burned alive which was not helpful. Erin and Adam had finally been able to calm everyone down by lying that they had talked to CFD and there were already on scene to get them out and the third floor was out of harms way. This was a blatant lie but it worked. Everyone was calm. Now as they rested by the door Adam adjusted himself hoping to find a way of sitting where his arm didn't hurt. He thought maybe it would feel better one way but was slowly realizing no way was going to make it feel better.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Erin told him.

"For what?" Adam asked. He had an idea but wasn't going to make this easier for her.

"For setting our ground rules. For bothering you about Kim. I was wrong." She admitted.

"Did Erin Lindsay just admit that she was wrong? I wish I could have gotten that on tape. No one is going to believe me when I tell this story later." Adam declared trying to make light of the situation.

"Very funny. I admit when I am wrong all the time. I just happen not to be wrong often." She jested back.

"Ahuh." Adam said. He paused and then decided to tell her. "The thing with me and Kim its still new. I mean I know its actually not new but it feels like it is. And she has been in a hard place with her family so I am just doing what I can to help her out right now. But I love her. I have always loved her to me my relationship with her has always been serious, even when we were apart. She has always been it for me. So I just don't want to do anything to fuck it up this time. I got a second chance I am not going to ruin it." He confessed.

Erin gave a light smile. She appreciated him opening up to her. "Have you told her all this?" She asked.

"Yeah. I have actually. We have talked about everything. Apparently we both sucked at communication last time so we are making sure we are telling each other everything this time around. And when I see her after this I will probably tell her it all again." Adam told her. He was so worried about Kim at this point. He would do anything to know she was safe and have her in his arms. "I really hope she is okay and out of the building at this point."

"Me too. I wish we knew something about him." Erin said slipping up. She meant to say them but her mind was on Jay as Adam talked about his relationship with Kim. She couldn't help but relate to his feelings. And she wished she knew where Jay was and that he was safe.

"You worried about Halstead?" Adam asked catching the 'him'.

"Yeah." She replied softly.

"What's going on with you two? You guys have been weird. " Adam told her.

"We are on a break." She explained.

"Ugh. Like Ross and Rachel? That probably won't end well then." Adam said. Erin gave him a look that said it all. It was 'you watch Friends' quizzical look. "Nicole and Zoe have been watching it." He explained.

Erin took this as a valid answer and then said. "It's not like that. He has some stuff he has to work through and decided it would best for him to do it alone." She explained.

"Sounds like that wasn't what you wanted." Adam said. Erin was a little surprised he picked up on that.

"I want to help him. I love him. Obviously I want to be there for him but he really won't let me." She confessed. She really didn't tell anyone that. She had been keeping that to herself. But to be honest no one had really asked. She knew normally Kim would have asked but she had been busy with her sister. So Erin really didn't have anyone else who would care that much since Annie was busy with her son. It was definitely weird having this heartfelt conversation with Adam Ruzek. He is probably the last person she thought she would be having this conversation with.

"You should tell him that. It's obvious he still loves you and I'm sure you being there would help. Whenever I have a bad case I used to think staying by myself and keeping Kim away was for the best but I quickly realized having her as my support made everything better." Adam confessed remembering the case with Felicia or when he lost his badge. At first he thought he could deal with it on his own but Kim hadn't let that last long and made him feel much better.

"It's a bit bigger than a bad case." Erin said. She wasn't going to betray Jay's confidence and tell him. Adam went to say something when they heard banging on the door behind them.

"Fire Department. Is anyone in there?" A strong voice said. Erin recognized that voice immediately. She stood up fast from where she was sitting.

"Kelly! Is that you!? We are trapped in here!" Erin yelled back.

"Erin?" Kelly asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah. I am here with Ruzek and about 100 dentist and 10 catering staff." She told him. "We can get the doors to open." Adam chimed in now standing next to Erin.

"Alright just stand back. We will get you out of there." Kelly replied. Erin could then here him giving out commands to it sounds like Cruz and Capp. She was so grateful they were here. She turned to give an announcement to everyone else in the room when she noticed smoke coming in from a back vent. She turned back to the door.

"Kelly?" She called out.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"If you could hurry that would be great." She told him. Adam looked at her and she nodded her head to the back of the room and Adam saw the smoke. Thankfully no one else had noticed yet. They couldn't deal with another panic.

Erin's mind was racing of everything that could go wrong. Maybe there was something with the doors and they wouldn't be able to get them open fast enough and everyone would get smoke inhalation. Or there would be a riot once they noticed the smoke. Her mind was at the next scenario when suddenly the doors popped open and standing on the other side was Kelly, Cruz, and Capp in their gear.

Her and Adam moved to the side as Capp and Cruz started leading people out of the building. Kelly moved in against the currently of people to where Adam and Erin were standing off to the side.

"You okay, man?" Kelly asked Adam seeing him bleeding and holding his arm.

"I will be." Adam replied.

"Okay. We got to get you guys out of here. There is a fire on the second, fifth, and eleventh floor and it has been spreading fast. I'll radio down and let them know you need an ambulance." Kelly informed them.

"The radios are working again?" Adam asked. They had given up checking theirs a while ago.

"Yeah just started a bit ago." Kelly told them. The room was emptied now so they three of them went out. Kelly guiding the way incase fire shot out of somewhere. They hallway was filled with smoke but it cleared out once they got to the stairway. Adam wanted to kiss the ground when they finally made it out of the hotel but there was too much commotion to do anything. Sylvie and Dawson came up to him as they walked out quickly followed by Voight.

"You two okay?" He asked while he was making sure Erin had no visable injuries.

"We are good." Erin told him. "Adam definitely needs an x-ray of his arm and maybe some stitches but that's it. We killed one of them. He was posing as a waiter." Erin told him. She would give him the full story of the two dead bodies and the fight later.

"We have reports of another one posing as a maintenance man, as well." Voight informed them from the information Atwater had given Al just a few minutes ago.

While Voight and Erin were having this conversation Sylvie and Gabby were trying to get Adam into their ambulance.

"I'm fine I don't need an ambulance he" told them. "I'll just go later."

"You will go now." Voight told him.

"Is Kim out yet?" He asked.

"We haven't heard from her or Halstead." He informed the two of them.

"Then I am not going anywhere." He said. He looked at Lindsay for some back up.

"Go and we will call you when we know something." Voight demanded.

"I'll go with you." Erin told him. Hoping it would keep both their minds off of it.

"Fine."

Erin and Adam got in the back of the ambulance with Gabby while Sylvie went up from to drive. They weren't talking much. Erin assumed Adam's mind was reeling with worst-case scenarios likes hers was. Dawson was covering the wound of his arm when her radio went off with Matt Casey's voice saying, "We found Halstead and Burgess. We need assistance and paramedics to the West staircase now."

* * *

A/N: Trying to meld everything going on so it flows instead of having each thing being a different chapter. Let me know if you like this set up better or the separate chapters! I love hearing what you all think! Thanks again for all the follows, favorites, and reviews!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to upload again. Work has been crazy. But here is the next chapter! I may have ended it in a weird place but I want to do the next part justice. Let me know what you think!

* * *

"Jay can you hold this while I go get something?" Kim asked Jay referring to the towel she was holding to try to stop his bleeding. "I'll be quick."

"Yeah." Jay said adjusting so he could hold the towel right above his hip.

Kim stood up and made her way to the door dropping the sheet she had on her burns so she could move faster. She felt the door to see if it was hot. It was a bit warm but she went out into the hall anyway. The hall was filled with smoke and she could feel the heat of the fire down the hall. She knew she would have to move quickly to get them out before the fire made it down to this side of the hall. She ran into the room that she saw the maid in earlier and shut the door behind her for a little bit of relief because the heat was making her burns hurt much worse then they were earlier. She walked further into the room and saw what she was looking for, the laundry cart, she grabbed it and stood in front of the door for a minute. She took a deep breath and then opened the door running back through the smoke to the room she left Jay in. This was the only time she let her mind wander the Adam. She hoped he was okay and even though she didn't want her mind to get to negative she hoped he would look after Zoe and Nicole if she and Jay didn't make it out of the hotel.

Kim entered the room and started coughing from all the smoke.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked. He couldn't see her from where he lied on the floor but heard how bad that cough sounded. He knew she was burnt too but wouldn't tell him about it or if she was in pain from it. But he could tell.

"I'm okay. The fire is moving so we are going to have to go fast if this is going to work." Kim told him as she wheeled the cart closer to him.

"Okay." Jay said. "You are going to bring me down in that?" He asked.

"Yeah. It already has some laundry in to soften the impact of the cart going down the stairs so hopefully you won't feel it too much." Kim explained.

"Okay. I trust you Burgess." Jay said to her as she kneeled next to him now.

"Good to know." Kim said with a slight smile. It did mean a lot to her to hear that from him. "So we will move you to the bed and then to the cart cause I can't lift you right into the cart."

"Alright." Jay said as he moved his body a little so she could move her arms to support him up and he wrapped his arm around her neck.

"On three." Kim said as Jay nodded his head. She counted off and then lifted him up to the bed. Jay groaned a bit at the pain of moving but kept going as Kim eased him into the cart. He was lying on a pile of sheets and comforters so even though he was in this tiny cart it was somewhat comfortable. He arranged himself in it and kept the towel holding pressure on his wound. He didn't know where Kim had gone but then she appeared over him with a wet blanket.

"Put this over you. It should protect you a bit if there is more fire down below." Kim explained.

"I guess us being friends with firefighters is finally coming in handy." Jay said as Kim put the wet blanket on him.

"Yeah." Kim said. Jay could see the pain in her eyes and then really looked at her and finally saw the burns on her taking form. There were some on her neck, where his arm just was. He couldn't imagine how painful that was for her and she didn't say a thing. He knew Kim was strong but he was really seeing how strong she actually was today.

"Ready?" She said after the long pause.

"Yeah." Jay said and Kim moved him in the cart. It was a little harder to maneuver now with the added weight of Jay but Kim was determined to do it. She moved towards the door, took a deep breath, and ran out the door pushing Jay towards the stairs.

Jay could feel the heat of fire and tried not to breath from all the smoke. He couldn't imagine how it was feeling for Kim since she didn't have the protection of the cart or the wet blanket. When Kim stopped to open the door to the stairs Jay's mind wandered to if there was anyone else in the building, specifically if Erin was still in the building. He was hoping Ruzek had gotten her out already and she was okay. He wouldn't be able to keep holding on if she wasn't okay so he kept telling himself she was okay. It was the only way he could keep fighting.

Once inside the stairwell Kim stopped to take a few deep breaths, which ended in her coughing a lot.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked from inside the cart.

"Yeah. Just need a second." Kim said. Once she finally stopped coughing or as Jay could see was fighting the cough she added, "This is not going to be comfortable. I am going to say sorry now and if it is too much tell me to stop because otherwise I am going to just keep going."

"Okay." Jay replied. Kim nodded her head, took a small breath because if she took a large one she would start coughing again, and grabbed the cart to start bringing down the stairs.

Going down was not easy, for Jay or Kim. The sheets were not enough to absorb all the shock from him so he felt himself jolting a lot and it was hard to keep the towel on his wound. He wasn't sure how far they had gone but he needed a break. When he could tell they were at a landing he said, "Stop."

"You okay?" Kim asked through her deep breaths. She was thankful he asked her to stop because she wasn't sure she could keep going.

"Yeah. Just need a short break. What floor are we on now?" Jay asked.

"We are between seven and six." Kim told him. She was glad he asked to stop. Everything in her body hurt, especially her lungs and skin. She wanted to give up but knew she couldn't. Jay needed her, she need to get out for Nicole and Zoe, and she needed to see Adam. Kim froze when she heard something. She couldn't make it out at first and looked to Jay who nodded that he heard it too. She pulled out her gun slowly and moved to the railing of the stairs to look down to see if she saw anything. She could hear movement. She was ready incase it was one of the escapees but then she heard whoever was in the stairwell yell, "Fire Department, Call Out." Kim breathed a sigh of relief and holstered her weapon.

"Up here. Help." She yelled. It wasn't as loud as she could yell from the smoke inhalation so she repeated it twice hoping they would hear her.

"We are coming." They yelled back and she could hear them running up the stairs faster now.

"We are going to be okay, Jay." She said to him as she leaned on the cart and looked at him. He just nodded.

Within a few more seconds Lieutenant Matthew Casey and Stella Kidd were there with them.

"Oh thank god." Kim said when she saw them.

"Are you okay?" Casey asked her as she stood up from leaning on the cart but then leaned on him.

"I'm okay. Jay was shot." She told them as Stella looked in the cart to see Jay lying there.

"Hi." He said with a small nod.

"How long have you been carrying him down?" Casey asked. He figured it wasn't too far since she wasn't in great condition. They both were going to need an ambulance.

"We started on eleven." Kim told him. "We need to get him to Med now. I'm not sure how much blood he has lost."

"We need to get both of you to Med." Stella replied.

Matt tried his radio and was thankful it was working now. He called down for more help and then picked Kim up. She protested a little but then let him start carrying her down the stairs once she saw Stella was continuing to bring Jay down in the cart. Kim heard more fire fighters voices that she recognized as Hermann but then everything went black.

* * *

Kevin was in Emily's room with pictures of the escapees that Platt had sent over to the hospital so she could identify which one she saw when a little girl came running into the room. "Mommy!" she squealed when she saw Emily on the bed. Kevin figured this was her daughter and lifted her up to the bed.

"Hi Lee-Lee." Emily said as the little girl crawled on the bed towards her mother and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"Are you okay, mommy?" she asked.

"I am." Emily said with a smile. And then looked to Kevin.

"Kevin this is my daughter Leanne." She said and then turned towards her daughter. "Leanne this is Kevin he is a police officer and made sure I was safe." Leanne gave a shy wave to Kevin as an older woman walked through the door. "I'm sorry she got away from when the nurse told us what room you were in." She then noticed Kevin and said, "Hi."

"Its okay Mom." Emily said. "This is Officer Kevin Atwater. He pulled me out of the fire."

"Its nice to meet you. Thank you for saving my daughter." Emily's mom said to Kevin.

"Not a problem. Happy to help. I will give you all some room." He said as he exited the room but before he left he gave Emily a quick wink. As he walked back to the nurses' station he questioned if that was the right thing to do. Kevin Atwater never questioned a wink but this girl had him questioning everything. He knew he should do anything. She was a victim they were helping but he couldn't help these feelings he was having after only knowing her a few hours. He wondered if she felt the same. He went to ask a nurse a question as she saw Gabby and Sylvie pushing Ruzek into the ED with Erin at their side.

"Ruzek. You okay, man?" Kevin asked as Maggie was telling Will to take Ruzek to room three.

"Nothing major." Adam said. "Have you heard about Jay and Kim? Last we heard Casey found them in a staircase."

"Nothing." Kevin said thankful that they were found. They just didn't know in what state they were found. "But I'll call Olinsky and see what's up." Kevin yelled as the nurse told him he couldn't go any further so the doctors could do their job. He walked back to the waiting room with Erin.

"You okay?" She asked him. It as obvious to him she was in a daze and he couldn't blame her. He had no idea what her and Ruzek went through but it obvious wasn't good since Ruzek was now being checked out by doctors and she had no idea what happened to Jay. The whole team knew they were on the rocks but it was obvious to anyone that the love was still there.

"I'm good. How are you?" Kevin asked lightly wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"I'll be fine." She told him. He knew that meant 'I'll be fine once I hear about Jay'.

"Okay. Let me go call Olinsky and see if there is any update." Kevin told her.

"Thanks." Erin said with a small smile as Kevin removed his arm from her shoulder and walked out of the ED.

"Any news, O?" Kevin asked once he finally got Olinsky on the phone.

"Burgess and Halstead are both headed to Med now. Voight and I are following." Al told him.

"Are they okay?" Kevin asked.

"To be honest neither of them looked good. They got them in the ambulances fast so we don't know what happened yet." Al explained as he remembered the site of Casey carrying Kim out of the building. It gave him horrible flashbacks to when Lexi was in the warehouse fire. He was praying this would have a different outcome because he wasn't sure if he could deal with losing Kim so soon after Lexi and in the same way. She was there for him during one of the hardest times in his life. She didn't need to be, they were still new as partners. But she was there for him like no one else was and since then she was like another daughter to him. He wasn't replacing Lexi with her but she helped with his grieving. And now to lose her in the same way he lost Lexi? He couldn't handle that.

"Okay. Ruzek and Lindsay just arrived and Will is checking Ruzek out now." Kevin said updating Al.

"Great. We will see you soon." Al said before hanging up.

Kevin walked back to the waiting room and saw Erin pacing the length of the room. She looked up and saw him. He could see the fear in her eyes.

"They will be here any minute." Kevin told her.

"Do you know how they are?" Erin asked. Before Kevin could answer Maggie yelled,

"Choi, Sexton, Natalie, and April get ready we have two incoming police officers, I have already notified the burn unit."

"Oh God." Erin said and turned her face into to Kevin's chest crying now. She was picturing Jay burned and severely injured. Kevin held her close while he watched the four called getting ready with Natalie and April putting special gowns on. Erin turned away from Kevin when she heard the sliding doors open and some paramedics shouting stuff. She saw Jay being wheeled in.

"Jay!" She screamed and tried to run to him.

"Erin!" Kevin yelled as he tried to hold her back.

"Kim!?" Adam yelled from his room not knowing what was going on but when he heard Erin and Kevin yelling he was hoping it meant Kim was here too.

"Adam!" Kim yelled from her gurney as she moved the oxygen mask from her face after regaining consciousness in the ambulance.

"Noah!" Noah Sexton said as he stood next to Maggie. Maggie glared at him as he did this. "Sorry. I felt left out." He said her with a small smirk before turning his attention to Dr. Choi and Jay.

"Take Halstead to Bagdad and Burgess to the burn unit." Maggie instructed.

"I want to see Adam." Kim pleaded to Natalie and April as they checked her out as the paramedics pushed her through the ED to the Burn Unit.

"Later. You got to keep this oxygen on." April told her as she moved the mask back over Kim's mouth.

Kevin got Erin to sit on a chair as she panicked over Jay. They didn't tell them anything yet. Voight and Olinsky had joined them and Voight went to talk to Maggie about seeing his officers but was shot down. A bit later Adam joined the quiet group with a sling on his arm.

"Broken arm and a few stitches." He told the group. "Any word on Jay and Kim?" He asked. He was thankful he heard Kim's voice say his name earlier but that was all the information he had. Will wouldn't let him leave the room. He could see Will wanted to leave to check on his brother but Will stayed because he knew Maggie wouldn't let him anywhere near Jay anyway.

"Kim's in the burn unit otherwise we know nothing on either of them." Al told him.

"Shit." Adam said hanging his head low. "Can I see her?" He asked them.

"No." Maggie said coming up behind them all. "Not yet. But Jay is asking to see you all before we take him to surgery."


	9. Chapter 8

The whole team crowded around Jay in his bed. This was definitely against protocol but Maggie was willing to break the rule just once today. Kevin was pretty much holding Erin up at this point as she looked at Jay. He had a layer of smoke over him but otherwise didn't look too bad since they couldn't see the bullet wound under the blanket he had over him now. Choi told him he would have to go up to surgery to have the bullet removed once an OR opened up but since it wasn't in a life-threatening place it was okay for him to wait a bit.

"How is Kim?" was the first thing he asked. Adam hung his head low. He would love to have the answer to that question.

"Don't know. Docs took her to the burn unit and that's that last we heard." Voight told Jay.

"She saved my life." He told them all. Everyone just looked at him. No one was really shocked. Kim was good police and never left a man behind but still hearing that from Jay left everyone a little shaken.

"What happened?" Adam asked through his teeth. He wasn't angry at Jay but the situation they were put in. And that fact that he knew nothing. But for now the anger was coming out at Jay.

"We were on the 11th floor and I heard movement in the utility room I went to see what it was and someone hit me over the head as I entered the room. We struggled for my gun and it went off in my side." Erin cringed at this. "He lit a fire and then ran from the room. I heard a gun go off in the hall and then Kim showed up and dragged me out of the room." Jay paused for a moment and got a little choked up. "When the explosion went off we were still in the hall and Kim… she covered me with her body to protect me from the fire." He was now had tears in his eyes. "That's why she is in the burn unit. She was saving me." Adam walked out of the room. He couldn't listen anymore.

"Jay its okay. She will be okay." Erin said as she walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. It was the most contact they had in months.

Voight could see they were finally going to talk as Jay was saying he was sorry to her. So he tried to usher everyone out of the room so they could have some privacy but then Dr. Choi came back in the room. "It's time to take Jay up for surgery." He told them all.

Erin held on to Jay's arm. She wanted to talk to him and could see he wanted to talk to her too but she knew his surgery was more important. She turned to him and said, "I'll be waiting right here for you when you get out." And then she placed a light kiss on the top of his head. Jay just nodded his head and rested it back on the pillow.

The team walked back out to the waiting room to see Adam sitting there. He had some tears in his eyes.

"Have you heard about Burgess?" Kevin asked assuming that what the tears were for.

"Nothing yet." He told them. Everyone was about to sit down when Natalie came out to them.

"How is she?" Adam asked right away.

"Despite everything she is doing okay. She has second-degree burns on her upper arms, neck, and part of her back as well as some smoke inhalation." Natalie explained to them.

"Can we see her?" Al asked.

"I'm actually here to get just one of you." Natalie explained. "With second degree burns its best to just let them blister and heal on their own not disturbing the skin. But some of the skin on the back of her neck has already been compromised so we have to remove it delicately and then cover it. We can give her some painkillers but the nerves are so fried it will still be painful. The burn doctors say it is helpful to have someone there to hold her hand during the process."

"I'll go." Adam said without hesitation. Everyone knew he would be the one to go for Kim.

"Give her our best and make sure she doesn't break your other arm." Kevin said patting Adam on the back.

Adam nodded and followed back towards the burn unit. They got to the entrance and there was a large sink and gowns hanging on the wall.

"You are going to have to wash your hands thoroughly and then put on the gown and hair net before coming in. We have to keep the unit as sterile as possible."

"Okay. Two questions. First, how to I was my hands very well with one in a sling and two how do I get my arm in the gown with the sling?" Adam asked.

Natalie looked at him. "I'll wash your one good hand and you will keep the sling arm in the gown."

As Natalie washed his hand he asked, "How is she? Really?" Natalie stopped for a minute and looked up at him.

"She is really lucky. It could have been a lot worse." Natalie told him. Kim didn't tell them much of what happened but Natalie could tell what she went through was difficult.

"Jay said she covered him during the explosion." Adam told her. He was still thinking of that. She had no idea what could have happened. She could have been killed instantly. The thought of losing her was too much for him.

"Wow." Natalie said and then sat with the information for a second but really didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah." Adam said and went quiet back into his head thinking of Kim. He wasn't sure the extent of her burns. He remembered how self-conscious she was originally of the scars after she was shot he was wondering how she would be with ones from the burns or if they would scar.

"Natalie, will Kim recover fully from this?" He finally asked.

"The scarring should be minimal. The color of the skin that will come back on the back of her neck will be a little off from the rest of her body but it won't be too noticeable." Natalie explained.

"Okay." Adam replied and then went back into his thoughts.

By the time Adam finally got into the burn unit he felt like a child. Natalie had to help him with everything. He was not looking forward to six weeks of this. He walked into the room and saw Kim sitting on a chair while April and another doctor was putting coverings on her arm. Her neck was raw and red. Adam knew he would have to keep a strong face for her so he looked away and moved around her so she could see him.

"Adam." Kim said when she saw him. "What happened to you?" She was so happy to see him even though now that she was being treated she could really feel the pain and extent of her burns despite the pain medication.

"I'm fine, Darlin'. How are you doing?" He walked towards her and grabbed her hand and slowly rubbed his thumb back and forth over it.

"Is Jay okay?" Kim asked. Adam noted that she wouldn't answer how she was.

"They just took him up for surgery but doctors said he should be fine." Adam told her.

"Okay." Kim said nodding her head a little.

"I was really worried about you." Adam confessed to her.

"I'm okay." Kim reassured him. But Adam just gave her a look, the 'are you really saying you are okay while you are in the burn unit look'. "I'm okayish." Kim clarified.

"Jay told us a bit of what happened." Adam told her. She looked up at him waiting for clarification. "That you covered him with yourself during the explosion." He said it in an almost disapproving tone.

"What else was I supposed to do? Leave him with a bullet wound and let him get burnt? He was my partner I did what I had to do." Kim explained.

"I'm not blaming you." Adam said as he now squatted to be at eye level with her. "You were so brave. But I don't know what I would do if something worse happened to you." Adam confessed.

Kim looked solemnly at him. "I'm sorry I thought about you and Nicole and Zoe when it happened. What would happen to all of you if something happened to me. But I couldn't leave Jay. I couldn't just let the fire attack him after he had already been shot." Kim had started to cry now.

"Shh." Adam said as he tried to wipe away her tears. "It's okay. You are okay. Jay is okay. Natalie says you will make a full recovery. You're safe and will recover from this and I am here for you."

Kim started to cry harder now. "Are you still going to want to be with my when I am scarred and ugly from this?" Before Adam could answer Kim started coughing. April came over with the oxygen mask.

"Kim, we need to put his on again." April said as she put the mask on her face and the strap around her head. When she walked away Adam said, "I am going to want to be with no matter what, Kim. There is nothing you could do that would separate us again. Even if you try walking away from me again. I will chase you down now." Adam told her. "You got that?"

Kim nodded with tears still streaming down her face. The doctor and April made their way over. "Kim its time for us to remove some of the burnt skin. It is going to hurt a bit but we gave you some pain medication and Adam is here to hold your hand." As April said this Adam grabbed her hand tighter and gave her a small smile. "You ready?" April asked. And Kim nodded her head. She then looked up at Adam and he knew exactly what she was asking him with her eyes since she couldn't talk with the oxygen mask still on. "Don't worry. I won't let go." He told her.

* * *

A/N: So how many months until PD comes back? Hope everyone enjoyed the finale! Curious to see what they do with Lindsay and I can't wait for Kim to come back! I'll see how long I can keep this up during hiatus. And as always thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows!


	10. Chapter 9

Adam threw the sterile gown into the waste bin with force. That was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. To hold Kim's hand while she was in so much pain. It was unbearable for him. He knew it was worse for her but he just felt so helpless there was nothing he could do but be there for her and try to keep her calm. April followed him into the room.

"We are going to transfer her to a permanent room. You can stay with her if you want." She told him. April could see the tension in Adam and the fact that he wouldn't look her in the eye so she added. "She is going to be okay."

"Yeah." Adam croaked out before leaving the room in a hurry. Suddenly everything felt to close to him. The hospital was too small. He had to get out. He had to get some air. He walked through the ED in a rush swiftly moving out of people's ways to get to the door as soon as possible. Kevin and Al called out to him as he passed by the waiting room but he just kept walking. He needed air. He needed out.

He bursted out of the hospital and into the brisk Chicago air. The cold air felt good since he felt like his skin was on fire. He shook that thought from his head. He saw what Kim went through when her skin actually was on fire and nothing he would ever feel would be that bad in his head. He walked over to an empty brick wall and leaned against it. He closed his eyes and took a few more deep breaths. He knew there was more than needed to be done he knew he would have to go back and see Kim and help with the case but he wanted to just sink into the earth and hide for a bit. Adam finally opened his eyes expecting to Kevin or Al waiting to talk to him but instead he was shocked to see Voight standing there.

"She's okay." Adam said as Voight started to approach him.

"And how are you?" Voight asked with the normal gravel in his voice.

"I'm fine." Adam responded. How could he say anything else?

"Seeing someone you love in physical pain and you can't do anything about it. It's the hardest thing you will ever have to do." Voight told him. This got Adam's attention. "Watching Camille slowly die of cancer was the hardest thing of my life. Especially since I couldn't do anything for her. But I was there every doctor appointment, every chemo treatment; I was there. It was the hardest thing I had to do in my life because I couldn't do anything about it. The only thing I could do was be there. And that's what you can do for Kim. I know it's going to be hard but she needs you there."

Adam nodded his head to this. He knew Voight was right he needed to be here for Kim and not think about anything else for the moment.

"Boss?" Adam said.

"Yeah." Voight responded.

"You know I think that may have been the most you have said to me that wasn't yelling at me for something stupid I did." Adam said lightening the mood a bit.

Voight smiled at this. "I must be losing my touch."

Adam smiled a little. "Thanks, boss."

"No problem. Now lets get back inside. Halstead should be out of surgery soon."

"Yes, sir." Adam said as he ran his hands through his hair. He stood up straight and then followed Voight back into the hospital.

* * *

Erin sat in the waiting room. Everything had gone up in smoke in the last few hours. Literally and figuratively. She watched Adam walk out the doors of the ED in a hurry and looked up to where Voight, Kevin and Al were standing.

"I'll go after him." Kevin said but then Voight put his hand on Kevin's shoulder. "No I got this one." Voight said and then followed Adam out of the ED.

"I'll go check on Kim then." Kevin said and went over to talk to a nurse. With that Al came and sat down next to Erin.

"How did everything go so wrong?" Erin asked him. Al adjusted his beanie on his head.

"You're not just speaking about today are you?" Al asked. It took Erin a minute for her to realize what he was talking about and then she realized her and Jay weren't as good as they thought about hiding their issues at work.

"Yeah." Erin said and then slouched down in her chair. "Everything has been such a mess and today just exemplifies it."

"I guess this would be the wrong time to say everything will get better?" Al asked.

"Do you really believe that?" Erin asked.

"Honestly?" Al asked and then said. "Recently not. But I'm old. There is still time for things to get better for you."

"Sometimes I feel like I need to just get out and start over somewhere else." Erin admitted. She had only told one other person this desire and had no idea why she was telling Al now.

"I understand that." Al responded. He wished he could do the same many times especially now that Lexie was gone. Before she could respond Dr. Choi was standing in front of them and Adam and Voight were coming up behind him.

"Is there news?" Voight asked.

"Jay is out of surgery and doing well. You guys can go up and see him soon." Choi told them all.

"Thank you." Erin said as she got up to shake Choi's hand.

"Not a problem." Choi responded and went back to Maggie to get his next patient.

Everyone stayed and looked at Erin.

"I guess I'll go up and see him." Erin said to them all.

"Tell him we will be up later." Al said to her and gave her arm a small squeeze. They all knew the two of them needed to talk. Erin nodded and headed towards the elevators.

"Where's Atwater?" Voight asked Al.

"Went to go check on Burgess. Didn't want her to be alone." Al told them. Adam felt that comment right in the gut. He didn't mean to leave her alone he just needed so air.

"Okay. Well grab him and go help out fugitive apprehension with what we know so far for the case. They are taking the lead now." Voight told Al.

"Sure thing." Al responded. "I'll go up see Burgess and him and I will head out."

* * *

"Thank you." Kim said to April as April finished getting Kim set up in her room.

"No problem. The call button is right here if you need anything." April pointed out the button right next to Kim's hand. April went to leave the room and saw Kevin standing in the doorway.

"Nice to see you, Atwater." April said to him. "She could use some company."

"That's what I am hear for." Kevin said with a smile and headed into the room where Kim was lying and looking at him.

"How you doing?" Kevin asked her as he walked over and picked up her hand lightly.

"Been better." Kim responded. He could see the tear stains on her cheeks from when she was crying earlier. "Where is Adam?" She asked. After everything he just disappeared without saying anything and it had her worried.

"Just checking in with Voight. He should be up soon." Kevin told her. He would tell a white lie to cover for Adam and not upset Kim there was no purpose in telling her he had left the building.

"Okay." Kim replied.

"You gave us all quite a scare." Kevin told her.

"I already heard it all from Adam." Kim told him. "I don't need to hear it again. I would still do it again or try to pull Jay a little faster."

"You're lucky it was him and not me." Kevin added with a laugh.

"I could pull you down a hallway." She said with a small smile. They both knew that as much as she worked out and how strong she was there was no way she could move Kevin more than a few feet but Kevin wasn't going to argue with her.

"I bet you a night of drinks at Molly's when you recover you can't." Kevin teased her.

"Challenged accepted." Kim responded immediately. She knew she would probably lose but it would be fun. She was glad he was distracting her from everything. She could always count on him for that. They were quiet for a minute before Kim asked.

"Has Voight said anything? About me I mean. My first day back from furlough and I'm probably going to be on medical leave for a bit. I'm sure he isn't happy." It had been on Kim's mind the whole time. What was going to happen to her job?

"Kim that is the furthest thing from his mind right now. He is just happy you and Jay are alive. And its not like he is gonna kick you out of the unit for going on medical after saving your partner life. That would just be dumb." Kevin reassured her.

Kevin could see some of the tension released from her body when he told her this. It was obvious this was worrying her. "Why don't you try to close your eyes for a bit? I'm sure Adam will be up soon and you can wait up to his ugly mug instead of my beautiful face."

Kim wasn't going to fight him. She was exhausted. "Okay." She replied.

"I'll be here until someone else gets here." He said as he pulled up a chair close to her bed.

"Thanks Kev." Kim replied. The exhausted consumed her body and she drifted off to sleep easily.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know. So long without an update. I am sorry! I realized the story had gotten away from my original outline and needed to regroup a bit and then got really busy at work. But I think I am getting back at it. I hopefully will be updating regularly again! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, I tried to get a look at some of the different relationships within Intelligence.


End file.
